In This Issue:

Columns: Revealed At Last (Editorial Comments) ...... 2 The Round Table (Letters of Comment)...... 3 Pulp Sources...... 6 Mailing Comments...... 17-19 Books Bought/Books Read...... 21-28

Reviews ROCURED Black Gate #6 ...... 4-6

The Men Who Made The Argosy P George Surdez...... 19 Will McMorrow...... 20 95404 CA, Santa Rosa,

Articles Robert E. Howard Collector’s Checklist ...... 7-16 1130 Fourth Street, #116 1130 Fourth Street, ASILY

E Corrections:

E Corrections to Back Numbers, Issue 8:

Steve Young’s wife’s name is Denise. B AN C UMBERS N ACK B Prepared for P.E.A.P.S. mailing #66 Harris Warren for P.E.A.P.S. Prepared January 2004January (707) 577-0522 Issue 10(revised) [email protected] email: Back Numbers

The Collyer Syndrome has struck again. In late this issue. We’d have had a pretty skimpy issue this time December, a New York City man was rescued by fi re- without his welcome contribution. I’m also very happy fi ghters from his apartment after he was trapped for sev- to have a letter of comment this time from one of my on- eral days under collapsed piles of books and magazines. line readers. Patrice Moore, 43, reportedly sold scavenged maga- • zines on the streets, earning $300 a week. Yeah, right, I I feel like I’m cheating by taking up so much space believe you can make $300 a week selling old scavenged issues with my “Books Read vs. Books Bought” feature. I keep of Ebony on the streets of New York. Sure I do. thinking that I can’t really bring in that many books on a His apartment was reportedly fi lled with stacks of regular basis, that my recent lists are unusual, but I guess paper items. According to news accounts, his apartment I really do buy that many books every quarter. was only 10 feet square with just enough room for him • to sleep, although some reports said his bed was also cov- I know some folks will be wondering why I’m both- ered in books and magazines. ering to run a checklist of Robert E. Howard books. I It took neighbors and rescue workers several hours to did this list for myself to fi nd out what I needed to fi nd free him, fi lling 50 garbage bags in the process. The fi re for my own collection. I decided that as long as I was department ordered the building evacuated because of doing the work, I might as well run it here. fears the weight of the books would collapse the fl oor. I wanted a simple checklist to fi nd out how many He had been calling for help for several days, but Howard paperbacks I needed to fi nd to complete my col- neighbors ignored him because he often talked to him- lection. I couldn’t fi nd one online that was up-to-date, self and played loud music. He was discovered when his easy to use and organized the way I wanted. As long as I landlord stopped by to give him a loan he’d asked for was doing paperbacks, I threw in the hardbacks and the several days before. chapbooks of which I’m aware. I make no claim that this The always sensitive New York Post’s headline read: is a complete checklist, although it is as complete as I Bookworm Squished. The paper was also kind enough could make it. to note that he was buried in the “buff”. How embar- Any corrections or additions would be very much rassing, not only do you look like an idiot, but you’re appreciated. naked to boot. This list quickly led me into deep quicksand. To keep Moore estimated that he had some 3,000 items in his my sanity, and make the deadline, I excluded all of the collection. Only 3000 items? Heck, I’ve got more than 3,000 adaptations, related works by other writers, comics and items. Mine are neatly put away on bookshelves though, at least other peripheral items. until the next big earthquake in these parts. The checklist is based on my own collection, articles, • publisher lists and bibliographic information found at the I’d like to welcome aboard Shane Roth as a reviewer REHUPA website and elsewhere on the web.

Back Numbers Can Be Easily Procured is published whenever Warren Harris gets around to it. Contents copyright 2004 by Warren Harris. All rights revert to creators upon publication. Back Number is prepared for the membership of the Pulp Era Amateur Press Society. Copies of all issues in Acrobat PDF format can be found on the web at www.efanzines.com. 2 Back Numbers like the ACE paperbacks of the 50’ and 60’s. Like you, when I buy a book I look to see if the stories were actu- ally from the pulps because I enjoy them more. These stories must have come from the general interest pulps from 1915-1928. There are two Grey Seal stories by Packard, a Craig Kennedy by Reeve, a Dr. Thorndyke by Freeman, 3 Cleek stories by Hanshew, a Sax Rohmer, 3 stories by R.T.M. Scott, a story by George Allen England, a Raf- fl es story by Hornung and many others that must have Hi Warren, pulp origins.

Have you ever heard of this set of books? I would I just ran across your mag on the net, and it is right like more info from you or your readers in the pulp com- up my alley. I have been reading and collecting pulps for munity. I found some info in the series of Yesterday’s about 30 years although I can’t afford to buy too many. Faces books by Sampson, but I would like to know if this I am like you in that I frequent used book stores, library is a common set or something the pulp collectors haven’t sales and garage sales. heard of. I started as a science fi ction fan so the fi rst pulps I got I want to thank you again for making Back Numbers were sf titles from Gerry de la Ree. He had lots of Star- available on line. tling, Thrilling, Wonder, Famous Fantastic Mysteries, etc. at good prices ($3-$5) and the condition was great. After Ron Duplechain a while I decided to try other genres so I bought issues of Argosy, Blue Book, Dime Detective, Weird Tales, etc. I only have about 400 pulps, but I have many true Hi Ron: detective mags from the 30’ and 40’s. On one of my trips to an antique show at a local mall I’m always glad to hear from a reader. I’m happy my zine I found 7 issues of Secret Agent X dating from 1934 (vol.1 has struck a chord with you. no.1) thru 1935 and they were in very nice condition Sometimes I think it’s a good thing that I can’t afford too with glossy covers. These cost me all of $8.00 each. At many pulps, as I have a hard enough time trying to fi nd space a garage sale I picked up 10 of the Doc Savage doubles for to store the ones I can afford. 25 cents each. I too came into pulp collecting as a science fi ction reader and Like you, I like the hardboiled detectives such as then branched out into other pulps. For those of us who were too Hammett and Spade, but I also love Race Williams, young to buy pulps new I think that it is a common entry point. Dan Turner, and that bunch. My favorite modern PIs Science fi ction seems to remember and respect its pulp origins are Andrew Vachss’ Burke, Robert Crais’ Elvis Cole more than other genre fi ction. and Kinky Friedman, but my favorite has to be Robert I’ve found a couple of the Ralph Dennis books, but I haven’t Dennis’ Hardman. I fi rst heard of the Dennis books from had time to read them yet. He seems to be a hard writer to fi nd articles in a Summer 1986 issue of Hardboiled and a 1983 these days. I think many bookstores are not willing to carry his issue of Mystery Scene. These books were published in the books, either because they are not recent best sellers or because 70s by Popular Library and there are 12 in the series. they look like men’s series adventure fi ction like the Butcher, They were packaged like the Destroyer books and were Executioner, etc. I’ll have to make a point of trying Dennis soon titled Hardman #1: Atlanta Death Watch through Hardman as you are not the fi rst to recommend him to me. #12: The Buy Back Blues, but the are gritty hardboiled I have heard of The World’s Best 100 Detective Stories private eye novels set in Atlanta during the 70’s. In 1986 by Eugene Thwing. John DeWalt loaned me one volume he I managed to fi nd 8 of the 12 books at a used book store found that has a Harry S. Keeler story in it. I’ll keep an eye for half the .95 cover price. I have read them three times out for the entire series. since, and I’m not one to read a book more than once This may have been one of several similar series like this because I have hundred of books that I haven’t read. The from this publisher. I’ve seen part of a set that has 100 short only other P.I. books I’ve read more than once are the stories, but I can only fi nd the romance volume and not the Burke books by Vachss. adventure or mystery volumes. I think that complete sets of these In 1970, at a library sale, I bought a set of books titles may be hard to fi nd these days. called The World’s Best 100 Detective Stories by Eugene Thanks for the letter. I really enjoy hearing from my read- Thwing published in 1929 by Funk & Wagnalls. ers. There are 10 vols. in the set and each vol. has 200 pages. These are hardbound but they are of a small size, Warren

3 Back Numbers Between the covers there are a total of six pages of ads. The relatively steep cover price of about ten bucks Current Reviews is placed into context when you realize that of the 208 pages that offers, over 200 of those pages are honest to goodness content. While this is a praise-worthy effort, the problem is that this causes an issue of a periodical to Black Gate cost more than a paperback novel. The price point alone Adventures in Fantasy Literature is a tough hurdle for a reader to climb. The question of New Epoch Press whether or not there is ten dollars of value in an issue of Issue #6 Fall 2003 Black Gate is less relevant than the fact that a potential $9.95 ($14.50 CAN) reader can get more reading for less money in a paper- 208 Pages back novel. One of the biggest criticisms I have for Black Gate is By Shane Roth that it doesn’t have enough ads. That’s right, Black Gate doesn’t have enough advertisements. Too much litera- Apparently, I am a kind and generous person. I know ture; too little corporate greed. It kills me to write this, this because I read it in the indica of Black Gate. “Thank but it is true. It is my opinion that Black Gate is going to you for reading our indica,” it read, “You are a kind & have to place more of the economic burden on advertis- generous person.” ers and less of this burden on the readership if they intend This level of warmth is to be expected from a publi- to compete in the marketplace. I’m now torn between cation based in a cozy small town like St. Charles, Illinois. gouging my eyes out or joining the Republican Party. (Population: 42,051 according to www.stcharlesil.org) The most upsetting aspect of this choice is how narrowly And the small town friendliness permeates the editorial joining the GOP beats out thrusting a salad fork into my tone of this periodical which devotes itself to fantasy fi c- eye socket. tion in general and contemporary fantasy in particular. Ugly economic realities aside, Black Gate is a pol- In the editorial, Secret Blindness, publisher/editor John ished product. The cover and inside covers are in color; O’Neil writes, “You are already a writer. The differ- the guts of the magazine are in black and white, with ence between you and those on the bestseller lists is only some graphic elements in grayscale. The lack of color ink persistence and determination.” What prevents this from doesn’t connote a lack of attention to detail or a poor sounding like just so much cheerleading dreck is the next presentation. This magazine may not have the budget of paragraph which consists of one sentence: “We expect a larger publisher but it certainly does have the profes- something great from you.” It is a small town sensibility sionalism of a larger publisher. In fact, the lack of color that allows one to offer a pat on the back and follow it (technically a printing limitation) is exploited fully and immediately with a kick in the butt. transformed into an asset. The original artwork is pre- Black Gate quietly serves two masters: fans of fan- dominately line art that makes evocative use of black and tasy fi ction and gamers. While there is a lot of overlap white. These inky illustrations create a powerful link in these two groups, they don’t overlap perfectly. The between Black Gate and the magazines of the pulp era. reader who looks in the mirror and doesn’t see someone Black Gate publishes fi ction for readers age 12 interested in both fantasy fi ction and RPGs may not get and up, according to writer’s submissions guidelines at the full benefi t of Black Gate. www.blackgate.com. This means while the fi ction is for Fiction dominates Black Gate’s pages. The non- adults, it is not ‘adult-oriented’. The stories in Issue #6 fi ction is supplemental to the fi ction without seeming bear this out. The stories deal with mature themes and superfl uous. Non-fi ction pieces include book reviews, are populated by mature characters. There is some rough game reviews, an article about the comics industry, an language, but nothing like what you might fi nd in a Ste- article about the history of fantasy literature and a comic phen King novel. Some characters clearly have sex, but strip spin-off of Knights of the Dinner Table called Java there are no passages describing sex acts in any detail, Joint. like you might fi nd in a Jackie Collins novel. There are Black Gate says it champions new writers and it does no passages detailing extreme violence, like you might get new writers into print. Of the seven pieces of fi ction fi nd in a Tom Clancy novel. Black Gate does not trade in the issue, three are by new authors. Being a haven for in splatter-this or splatter-that. There is no over-the-top new writers is all well and good, but a magazine is really anything. Readers looking for intensely gory or messy supposed to be a haven for readers. While Black Gate or pornographic material in their fantasy fi ction will be wishes me to see myself as a writer, when I read I chose sorely disappointed in Black Gate. Gore, profanity and to see myself as a reader. porn are evidence of creative sloth more often than not. I

4 Back Numbers didn’t fi nd myself reading any of Black Gate’s fi ction and to them. Black Gate has assembled a wide variety of fan- saying to myself, “What this story needs is more descrip- tasy fi ction, and it is unlikely that this is a coincidence. tions of genitalia.” All of the stories were written well. Some stories were Black Gate has made the reprinting of pulp era fi ction more to my taste than others, but I couldn’t complain a cornerstone element of every issue. In issue #6, they put about the quality of writing in any of the stories. Tumithak in Shawm by Charles R. Tanner, originally Black Gate also seems to be interested in stories that published in Amazing Stories, June 1933. In addition make delicate use of their fantasy elements. The protag- to the original text, Black onists were, by and large, Gate also reprinted an illus- possessed of normal capa- tration for the story that also bilities. All protagonists appeared in Amazing Sto- struggled to cope with the ries. The story was set in a fantastic elements of their dystopic future where Earth world. Few of them were has been taken over by a endowed with much super- malevolent alien race. The natural ability, and many of hero of the story, Tumithak, them lacked any supernatu- was an early example of a ral or fantastic capabilities. fantasy hero using low tech There were no protagonists and high tech weaponry. who were witches, vam- He wielded a sword, but pires, lycanthropes, or wiz- he also carried a revolver. ards. This seems like more (Seeing Morpheus wield- of an editorial decision than ing a samurai sword and a coincidence. There are a sub-machine gun in no chestnuts, shop worn Matrix:Reloaded seems a formulas or comfortably lot less groundbreaking familiar old saws. For better when you realize that the or worse, Black Gate foundation for him was set appears to be cliché- at least seventy years ago.) averse. Frankly, the story itself left The Sword in the me cold as a reader. I didn’t Mirror is the centerpiece fi nish the story. I didn’t article of non-fi ction in this even get halfway through issue. Written by Howard the story. Nonetheless, I Andrew Jones, this is a con- came away from Tumithak cise overview of the sword in Shawm with a stronger and sorcery fantasy genre sense of what fantasy fi ction was like in the 1930s. The stretching back to the late 19th century. If, like me, you fact that this pulp classic didn’t resonate with me had didn’t know that sword and sorcery fi ction’s pedigree nothing to do with the inherent quality of the writing. went back to 1895; and if, like me, the only William The story just wasn’t my cup of coffee. Still, it was a good Morris you know is the one that represents celebrities lesson in the history of fantasy literature. Along with the then you would benefi t mightily from reading this arti- story and the artwork, Black Gate provided some side- cle. bars that gave the reader some good contextual sense of Black Gate devotes seven pages to a guide of the the impact that Tanner’s Tumithak series had in the 30s supernatural characters that populate the DC comics as well as an author’s biography and some info on Amaz- universe. This article doesn’t go as deep as The Sword ing Stories as well. in the Mirror but does make a good primer for anyone There are six stories from contemporary authors in who wishes to learn about the wide array of spell-casting the issue. Three are set in a contemporary setting (that is, characters that live in the same milieu as Batman and modern Earth). One is set in Ancient China. The other Superman. This article was written in response to DC’s two are set in a more orthodox psudo-medieval fi ctional release of Zatanna: Everyday Magic under its Vertigo setting in the mold of Howard/Leiber. Each author is imprint. given a concise biography and for those more established They review nine game products, ranging from authors, a bibliography. These stories have a few tying novels to sourcebooks to miniatures, and spend thirteen binds beyond the fact that they all have fantasy elements pages pouring over those products. This is a gamer-savvy

5 Back Numbers publication, and the gaming industry appears to be well- a region that doesn’t want them there.” By comparison, aware of this. The ocean-front advertising real estate in the review of WotC’s Races of Faerun is unabashedly this magazine (the back cover and the inside covers) are favorable with the reviewer not able to manage a single all occupied by Wizards of the Coast. The reviews begin example of that cornerstone of critical review: the back- with a look at the current Flavor of the Month in games: handed compliment. The reviews come across as even- Crimson Skies. The review begins opposite a full page handed and credible. ad for... Crimson Skies. There is more than one Crim- They review seven books, including a new Thieves’ son Skies product being put to market at the moment; World anthology called Turning Points. The reviews of Black Gate focuses on the collectible miniatures game. these books is considerably less hard nosed than that of The review recommends the product without sounding the game products. This could have something to do like a press release, but only by a narrow margin. After with the fact that games allow for objectivity moreso reading the review, I’m aware of many interesting aspects than works of fi ction. If a reader likes a story, it is easy to of the game and have a fair to partly cloudy idea of how forgive the occasional structural fl aw or cliché. A gifted the game might play. But I have no idea how much the storyteller can compensate for stylistic or linguistic short- game costs to play. Here is an excerpt from the Crimson comings by the sheer force of charm alone, beguiling Skies review: even a fi nely honed critical eye. Game books, on the “It comes in several packs and the minimum needed other hand, can be measured in terms of their playability. to play the air combat game is the Rules Pack (rules, dice, However enjoyable the writing is to read, if the game cards, and counters) and at least two Squadron Packs doesn’t play then it is hard to recommend. So, I must (four planes each). If you want to play the Aces game, assume that all seven of these books really got under the you’ll need an Aces Pack as well.” skin of the staff of Black Gate because they gave posi- I’m sure that’s not all you need. A trust fund, for tive reviews of every one of them. In many places, the example, might serve you well. It is worth pointing out reviewers qualify their praise with some modest reserva- that the review had almost nothing bad to say about tions, but I was left with the impression that these seven any major component of this game. What prevents the books were read by seven thoroughly satisfi ed readers. As review from sounding like a shill is the candid writing. with the game reviews, I was given enough information While the reviewer makes it clear that he had a sincerely to draw my own conclusions. positive experience with this game, I got enough infor- The big let-down in Black Gate is the comic strip mation to know that this product is not for me. I got the Java Joint. It looks like Knights of the Dinner Table, but impression that anyone buying this game based on the it ain’t Knights of the Dinner Table. They forgot the recommendation of Black Gate will do so as a reasonably funny, and that is one hell of an ingredient to forget informed consumer. when making a comic strip. There is also the little matter of how the reviews deal To sum up, Black Gate is a periodical for the fantasy with products from media giant Wizards of the Coast, reader who games or for the gamer who reads fantasy. their largest advertiser. The reviews do not mince words. For the pulp fan, there is the showcase of classic fi ction In a review of the WotC product Savage Species, which from the pulp era, but there is also something else. This outlines rules that allow for monstrous player charac- magazine has pulp ancestry and pays quiet homage to ters, you will fi nd that “There isn’t much information on that ancestry. Black Gate traces its lineage directly to how monstrous PCs could fi t into a [D&D] campaign... the likes of Amazing Stories, rendering it of more than you must already have your explanation lined up for an just passing interest to the pulp community. In my opin- adventuring blink dog or treant. There’s nothing here to ion, the periodical delivers ten dollars worth of value but inspire you if you don’t.” This from a review of WotC’s New Epoch Press should still fi gure out how to sell it for product Unapproachable East: “It seems odd that a prod- less. Also, this periodical alleges to be a quarterly publi- uct could have been designed this way, but probably the cation but so far New Epoch is netting about two issues single biggest hurdle to using Unapproachable East is a year. This is a handsome ship made of good timber that simply fi guring out how to get adventurers around in may need to be run more tightly.

Pulp Sources: Black Gate Magazine can be ordered from the publisher at: New Epoch Press, 815 Oak Street, St. Charles, IL 60174 or through their website at www.blackgate.com. Four issue subscriptions are $29.95 for U.S. subscribers and $49 (Canadian) for Canadian subscribers. Back issues are available.

6 Back Numbers Collector’s Checklist of Robert E. Howard

Howard Books by Publisher Bantam ! Kull: The Fabulous Warrior King 1978 Ace ! Solomon Kane: Skulls in the Stars 1978 ! Conan the Conqueror (Ace Double) 1953 ! Wolfshead 1979 ! Almuric 1964 ! Solomon Kane: Hills of the Dead 1979 ! Almuric 1970 ! The Road of Azrael 1979 ! Conan ! Conan the Adventurer Baronet ! Conan of Cimmeria ! Black Vulmea’s Vengeance 1977 ! Conan the Conqueror ! Conan the Warrior Berkley Putnam ! Conan the Freebooter ! The Hour of the Dragon 1977 ! Conan the Avenger ! The People of the Black Circle 1977 ! Conan the Wanderer ! Red Nails 1977 ! Conan the Usurper ! The Gods of Bal-Sagoth 1979 Berkley Medallion ! The Howard Collector 1979 ! The Hour of the Dragon 1977 ! Tigers of the Sea 1979 ! The People of the Black Circle 1977 ! Worms of the Earth 1979 ! Red Nails 1977 ! Pigeons from Hell 1979 ! Almuric 1977 ! The Sowers of the Thunder 1979 ! Marchers of Valhalla 1978 ! Three-bladed Doom 1979 ! Skull-Face 1978 ! Conan: The Treasure of Tranicos 1980 ! Swords of Shahrazar 1978 ! Conan: The Flame Knife 1981 ! Black Canaan 1978 ! The Iron Man/The Incredible ! Son of the White Wolf 1978 Adventures ofDennis Dorgan 1983 ! The Last Ride 1978 ! Heroes of Bear Creek 1983 ! The Lost Valley of Iskander 1979 ! The She Devil 1983 ! Black Vulmea’s Vengeance 1979 ! Cormac Mac Art: Tigers of the Sea 1984 ! Sword Woman 1979 ! Sword Woman 1986 ! The Vultures of Whapeton 1980 ! The Lost Valley of Iskander 1986 ! The Book of Robert E. Howard 1980 ! Son of the White Wolf 1987 ! The Second Book of Robert E. Howard 1980 ! Black Vulmea’s Vengeance 1987 ! The Last Celt 1977 ! Swords of Shahrazar 1987 Centaur Press Arkham House ! The Moon of Skulls 1969 ! Skull-face and Others 1946 ! The Hand of Kane 1970 ! Always Comes Evening 1957 ! Solomon Kane 1971 ! The Dark Man and Others 1963 ! The Moon of Skulls (Illustrated Edition) 1976 ! The Hand of Kane (Illustrated Edition) 1976 Baen ! Solomon Kane (Illustrated Edition) 1976 ! Cthulhu: The Mythos and Kindred Horrors1987 ! Cormac Mac Art 1995 Chaosium ! Kull 1995 ! Nameless Cults 2001 ! Solomon Kane 1995 ! Bran Mak Morn 1996 Charles Hoffman ! Eons of the Night 1996 ! Desire and Other Poems 1989 ! Trails in Darkness 1996 ! Beyond the Borders 1996 Charles Miller ! The Grey God Passes 1975 ! Valley of the Lost 1975

7 Back Numbers Cryptic Publications ! The Tower of the Elephant 1975 ! Bran Mak Morn: A Play and Others ! Black Vulmea’s Vengeance 1976 (Unnumbered) 1983 ! The Devil In Iron 1976 ! Bran Mak Morn: A Play and Others ! Iron Man 1976 (Numbered) 1983 ! Rogues in the House 1976 ! Two-Fisted Detective Stories ! The Last Celt 1976 (Unnumbered) 1984 ! Marchers of Valhalla 2nd Edition 1977 ! Two-Fisted Detective Stories (Numbered) 1984 ! Pride of Bear Creek 2nd Edition 1977 ! Two-Fisted Detective Stories (Lettered) 1984 ! Queen of the Black Coast 1978 ! Two-Fisted Detective Stories (Presentation) 1984 ! Red Shadows 2nd Edition 1978 ! The Adventures of Lal Singh 1985 ! Black Colossus 1979 ! Pay Day 1986 ! Hawks of Outremer 1979 ! Lurid Confession No. 1 1986 ! Jewels of Gwalhur 1979 ! The Coming of El Borak 1987 ! Mayhem on Bear Creek 1979 ! Lewd Tales 1987 ! Road of Azrael 1979 ! North of Khyber 1987 ! Road of Azrael Limited edition 1979 ! The Sonora Kid 1987 ! Lord of the Dead 1981 ! Kull 1985 Dark Carneval ! Kull – Limited Edition 1985 ! Spears of Clontarf 1986 ! The Pool of the Black One 1986 ! Writer of the Dark (Rat Cover) 1986 ! Hour of the Dragon 1989 ! Writer of the Dark (Plain Cover) 1986 ! Shadows of Dreams 1989 ! Post Oaks and Sand Roughs 1989 Dell ! Bran Mak Morn 1969 FAX Collector’s Editions ! The Lost Valley of Iskander 1974 Del Rey ! The Incredible Adventures of ! The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian 2003 Dennis Dorgan 1974 ! The Swords of Shahrazar 1976 Dennis McHaney ! Son of the White Wolf 1977 ! Two Against Tyre (Unnumbered) 1975 ! The Return of Skull-Face 1977 ! Two Against Tyre(Numbered Deluxe) 1975 ! Rhymes of Death (Numbered) 1975 Fictioneer Books ! Rhymes of Death (Unnumbered) 1975 ! The Vultures 1973

Dodd, Mead George Hamilton ! The Last Cat Book 1984 ! Blades for France 1975 ! Isle of Pirate’s Doom 1975 Donald M. Grant ! The Shadow of the Hun 1975 ! A Gent from Bear Creek 1965 ! Verses in Ebony 1975 ! The Pride of Bear Creek 1966 ! Verses in Ebony (Preview Edition) 1975 ! Red Shadows 1st Edition 1968 ! The King’s Service 1976 ! Singers in the Shadows 1970 ! A Bicentennial Salute to Robert E. Howard 1976 ! Red Blades of Black Cathay 1971 ! The Shadow of the Beast 1977 ! Echoes From an Iron Harp 1972 ! Spears of Clontarf 1977 ! Marchers of Valhalla 1st Edition 1972 ! The Sowers of the Thunder 1973 Gibbelins Gazette Press ! People of the Black Circle 1974 ! The Ghost Ocean (Hardcover) 1982 ! Tigers of the Sea 1974 ! The Ghost Ocean (Trade Paperback) 1982 ! Worms of the Earth 1974 ! The Ballad of King Geraint 1989 ! Almuric 1975 ! A Witch Shall Be Born 1975 Glenn Lord ! A Gent from Bear Creek 2nd Edition 1975 ! Etchings in Ivory 1968 ! Red Nails 1975

8 Back Numbers Gnome Press The Morning Star Press ! Conan the Conquerer 1950 ! Night Images (Trade) 1976 ! The Sword of Conan 1952 ! Night Images (Deluxe) 1976 ! King Conan 1953 ! The Coming of Conan 1953 Mythos Books ! Conan the Barbarian 1954 ! Robert E. Howard–The Power of the ! Tales of Conan 1955 Writing Mind 2003

Grossett & Dunlap Necronomicon Press ! The Devil in Iron 1978 ! Voices of the Night and Other Poems 1977 ! The Tower of the Elephant 1978 ! The Illustrated Gods of the North 1977 ! The Illustrated Challenge From Beyond 1978 Hall Publications ! Robert E. Howard Selected Letters ! Etchings in Ivory 1975 1923-1930 1989 ! Robert E. Howard’s Fight Magazine #1 1990 Herbert Jenkins ! Robert E. Howard’s Fight Magazine #2 1990 ! A Gent From Bear Creek 1937 ! The Challenge From Beyond 1990 ! A Gent From Bear Creek (Cheap Edition) 1938 ! Robert E. Howard’s Fight Magazine #3 1991 ! Robert E. Howard Selected Letters Kensington 1931-1936 1991 ! Worms of the Earth 1975 ! Robert E. Howard’s Fight Magazine #4 1996 ! Ghor, Kin-slayer 1997 Joe & Mona Marek ! New Howard Reader #1 1998 Neville Spearman ! New Howard Reader #2 1998 ! Skull-Face and Others 1975 ! New Howard Reader #3 1998 ! New Howard Reader #4 1999 New English Library ! New Howard Reader #5 1999 ! Almuric 1971 ! New Howard Reader #6 1999 ! New Howard Reader #7 2000 Nouvelles Editions Oswald ! Howard Reader #8 2003 ! Poems of War and Death (Trade) 1988 ! Poems of War and Death (Deluxe Limited) 1988 Lancer ! Conan the Adventurer 1966 Orbit ! King Kull 1967 ! Swords of Shahrazar 1976 ! Conan the Warrior 1967 ! Worms of the Earth 1976 ! Conan the Conqueror 1967 ! The Lost Valley of Iskander 1976 ! Conan the Usurper 1967 ! Son of the White Wolf 1977 ! Wolfshead 1968 ! Three-bladed Doom 1977 ! Conan 1968 ! The Robert E. Howard Omnibus 1977 ! Conan the Avenger 1968 ! The Conan Chronicles 1989 ! Conan the Freebooter 1968 ! The Conan Chronicles 2 1990 ! Conan the Wanderer 1968 ! Conan of Cimmeria 1969 Panther ! The Dark Man & Others 1972 ! Skull-Face Omnibus Vol. 1: Skull-Face & Others 1976 LANY Cooperative Publications ! Skull-Face Omnibus Vol. 2: ! The Hyborian Age 1938 The Valley of the Worm 1976 ! Skull-Face Omnibus Vol. 3: Millenium The Shadow Kingdom 1976 ! The Conan Chronicles Vol. 1 2000 ! The Dark Man Omnibus Vol. 1: ! The Conan Chronicles Vol. 2 2001 The Dark Man 1978 ! The Dark Man Omnibus Vol 2: Millenium Publications The Dead Remember 1979 ! The Black Reaper 1995 9 Back Numbers Paul Herman Steve Trout ! The Complete Yellow Jacket 1999 ! No Refuge 1989 ! The Complete Action Stories 2001 Stygian Isle Press The Pennsylvania Dutch Cheese Press ! The Grim Land and Others 1976 ! The Challenge From Beyond 1954 ! Runes of Ahrh-Eih-Eche 1976 ! Omniumgathum 1976 Peter Haddock ! The Moon of Skulls 1972 Thomas Kovacs ! The Hand of Kane 1972 ! The Rhyme of the Three Slayers 1983 ! Solomon Kane 1972 ! Neolithic Love Song 1987 ! The Return of the Sea Farer 1988 The Robert E. Howard House ! A Man-Eating Jeopard 1994 T. V. Boardman ! Conan the Conqueror 1954 Robinson ! Robert E. Howard’s World of Heroes 1989 Underwood-Miller ! Always Comes Evening 1977 Roy A. Squires ! Always Comes Evening (Limited) 1977 ! Black Dawn 1972 ! Always Comes Evening (New jacket) 1980 ! The Road to Rome 1972 ! A Song of the Naked Lands 1973 Wandering Star ! The Gold and the Grey 1974 ! Altars and Jesters 1974 ! Savage Tales of Solomon Kane ! Up John Kane! and Other Poems 1977 Limited Edition 1998 ! Savage Tales of Solomon Kane Science Fiction Book Club Ultra Limited Edition 1998 ! Red Nails 1977 ! The Ultimate Triumph Classic Edition 2000 ! The Hour of the Dragon 1977 ! The Ultimate Triumph Collector’s Edition 2000 ! The People of the Black Circle 1977 ! The Ultimate Triumph ! The Essential Conan 1998 Ultra Deluxe Edtion 2000 ! The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian 2003 ! Bran Mak Morn: The Last King Trade Edition 2001 Science Fiction Graphics ! Bran Mak Morn: The Last King ! Singers in the Shadows 1977 Limited Edition 2001 ! Bran Mak Morn: The Last King Sphere Ultra Limited Edition 2001 ! Conan 1974 ! The Black Stranger 2002 ! Conan the Adventurer 1974 ! Conan of Cimmeria: Vol. 1 (1932-1933) ! Conan of Cimmeria 1974 Limited Edition 2003 ! Conan the Conqueror 1974 ! Conan of Cimmeria: Vol. 1 (1932-1933) ! Conan the Warrior 1974 Artists Edition 2003 ! Conan the Freebooter 1974 ! Conan of Cimmeria: Vol. 1 (1932-1933) ! Conan the Avenger 1974 Ultra Limited Deluxe Edition 2003 ! Conan the Wanderer 1974 ! Conan the Usurper 1974 Wayne Stolte ! King Kull 1976 ! Flight 1992 ! Almuric 1977 ! Marchers of Valhalla 1977 Wildside Press ! The Sowers of Thunder 1977 ! The Complete Action Stories 2003 ! Tigers of the Sea 1977 ! Waterfront Fists and Others 2003 ! Graveyard Rats and Others 2003

10 Back Numbers Zebra Black Vulmea’s Vengeance ! The Sowers of Thunder 1975 ! Ace ! Tigers of the Sea 1975 ! Baronet ! Worms of the Earth 1975 ! Berkley ! A Gent From Bear Creek 1975 ! Donald M. Grant ! The Vultures of Whapeton 1975 ! Zebra ! The Incredible Adventures of Blades for France Dennis Dorgan 1975 ! George Hamilton ! The Lost Valley of Iskander 1976 The Book of Robert E. Howard ! The Iron Man 1976 ! Berkley ! The Book of Robert E. Howard 1976 ! Zebra ! The Second Book of Robert E. Howard 1976 Bran Mak Morn ! Pigeons from Hell 1976 ! Baen ! Black Vulmea’s Vengeance 1977 ! Dell ! The Sword Woman 1977 Bran Mak Morn: A Play and Others ! Three-bladed Doom 1977 ! Cryptic Publications (Unnumbered) ! Cryptic Publications (Numbered) Howard Books by Title Bran Mak Morn: The Last King ! Wandering Star (Trade) The Adventures of Lal Singh ! Wandering Star (Limited) ! Cryptic Publications ! Wandering Star (Ultra Limited) Almuric The Challenge From Beyond ! Ace (1964) ! The Pennsylvania Dutch Cheese Press ! Ace (1970) ! Necronomicon Press (1990) ! Berkley The Coming of Conan ! Donald M. Grant ! Gnome Press ! New English Library The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian ! Sphere ! Del Rey Altars and Jesters ! Science Fiction Book Club ! Roy A. Squires The Coming of El Borak Always Comes Evening ! Cryptic Publications ! Arkham House The Complete Action Stories ! Underwood-Miller (Keiko Nelson Jacket) ! Paul Herman ! Underwood-Miller (Limited) ! Wildside Press ! Underwood-Miller (Mara Murray Jacket) The Complete Yellow Jacket The Ballad of King Geraint ! Paul Herman ! Gibbelins Gazette Publications Conan A Bicentenial Salute to Robert E. Howard ! Ace ! George Hamilton ! Lancer Beyond the Borders ! Sphere ! Baen Conan the Adventurer Black Canaan ! Ace ! Berkley ! Lancer Black Colossus ! Sphere ! Donald M. Grant Conan the Avenger Black Dawn ! Ace ! Roy A. Squires ! Lancer The Black Reaper ! Sphere ! Millennium Publications Conan the Barbarian The Black Stranger ! Gnome Press ! Wandering Star Conan of Cimmeria ! Ace ! Lancer ! Sphere

11 Back Numbers Conan of Cimmeria: Volume One (1932-1933) Eons of the Night ! Wandering Star (Limited) ! Baen ! Wandering Star (Artists) Etchings in Ivory ! Wandering Star (Ultra Limited Deluxe) ! Glenn Lord The Conan Chronicles ! Pirate Edition (Publisher Unknown) ! Orbit ! Hall Publications The Conan Chronicles 2 The Essential Conan ! Orbit ! SF Book Club The Conan Chronicles Vol. 1 Flight ! Millenium ! Wayne Stolte The Conan Chronicles Vol. 2 A Gent from Bear Creek ! Millenium ! Donald M. Grant (1965) Conan the Conqueror ! Donald M. Grant (1975) ! Ace (Ace Double) ! Herbert Jenkins ! Ace ! Herbert Jenkins (Cheap Edition) ! Gnome Press ! Zebra ! Lancer Ghor Kin-Slayer ! Sphere ! Necronomicon Press ! T. V. Boardman & Co. The Ghost Ocean Conan the Freebooter ! Gibbelins Gazette Press (Unnumbered) ! Ace ! Gibbelins Gazette Press (Numbered) ! Lancer The Gods of Bal-Sagoth ! Sphere ! Ace Conan the Usurper The Gold and the Grey ! Ace ! Roy A. Squires ! Lancer Graveyard Rats and Others ! Sphere ! Wildside Press Conan the Wanderer The Grey God Passes ! Ace ! Charles Miller ! Lancer The Grim Land and Others ! Sphere ! Stygian Isle Press Conan the Warrior The Hand of Kane ! Ace ! Centaur ! Lancer ! Centaur (Illustrated) ! Sphere ! Peter Haddock Cormac Mac Art Hawks of Outremer ! Ace ! Donald M.Grant ! Baen Heroes of Bear Creek Cthulhu: The Mythos and Kindred Horors ! Ace ! Baen Hills of the Dead The Dark Man and Others ! Bantam ! Arkham House The Hour of the Dragon ! Lancer ! Berkley/Putnam The Dark Man and Others Vol. 1 ! Berkley ! Panther ! Donald M. Grant The Dark Man and Others Vol. 2 ! SF Book Club ! Panther The Howard Collector Desire and Other Poems ! Ace ! Charles Hoffman The Howard Reader #8 The Devil in Iron ! Joe & Mona Marek ! Donald M. Grant The Hyborian Age ! Grosset & Dunlap ! LANY Cooperative Publications Echoes From An Iron Harp The Illustrated Challenge From Beyond ! Donald M. Grant ! Necronomicon Press

12 Back Numbers The Illustrated Gods of the North The Moon of Skulls ! Necronomicon Press ! Centaur The Incredible Adventures of Dennis Dorgan ! Centaur (Illustrated) ! FAX Collector’s Edition ! Peter Haddock ! Zebra Nameless Cults The Iron Man ! Chaosium ! Donald M. Grant Neolithic Love Song ! Zebra ! Thomas Kovacs The Iron Man with The Incredible Adventures of The New Howard Reader Dennis Dorgan ! #1 Joe & Mona Marek ! Ace ! #2 Joe & Mona Marek The Isle of Pirate’s Doom ! #3 Joe & Mona Marek ! George Hamilton ! #4 Joe & Mona Marek Jewels of Gwahlur ! #5 Joe & Mona Marek ! Donald M. Grant ! #6 Joe & Mona Marek King Conan ! #7 Joe & Mona Marek ! Gnome Press Night Images King Kull ! The Morning Star Press (Trade) ! Lancer ! The Morning Star Press (Deluxe) ! Sphere No Refuge The King’s Service ! Steve Trout ! George Hamilton North of Khyber Kull ! Cryptic Publications ! Baen Omniumgathum ! Bantam ! Stygian Isle Press ! Donald M. Grant Pay Day ! Donald M. Grant (Limited) ! Cryptic Publications The Last Cat Book The People of the Black Circle ! Dodd, Mead ! Berkley/Putnam The Last Celt ! Berkley ! Berkley ! Donlad M. Grant ! Grant ! SF Book Club The Last Ride Pigeons from Hell ! Berkley ! Ace Lewd Tales ! Zebra ! Cryptic Publications Poems of War and Death Lord of the Dead ! Nouvelles Editions Oswald (Trade) ! Donald M. Grant ! Nouvelles Editions Oswald (Deluxe Limited) The Lost Valley of Iskander The Pool of the Black One ! Ace ! Donald M. Grant ! Berkley Post Oaks & Sand Roughs ! Orbit ! Donald M. Grant ! FAX Collector’s Edition The Pride of Bear Creek ! Zebra ! Donald M. Grant (First Edition) Lurid Confession No. 1 ! Donald M. Grant (Second Edition) ! Cryptic Publications Queen of the Black Coast A Man-Eating Jeopard ! Donald M. Grant ! The Robert E. Howard House Red Blades of Black Cathay Marchers of Valhalla ! Donald M. Grant ! Berkley Red Nails ! Donald M. Grant ! Berkley/Putnam ! Donald M. Grant (Limited) ! Berkley ! Sphere ! Donald M. Grant Mayhem on Bear Creek ! SF BookClub ! Donald M.Grant 13 Back Numbers Red Shadows Singers in the Shadows ! Donald M. Grant (First Edition) ! Donald M. Grant ! Donald M. Grant (Second Edition) ! Science Fiction Graphics The Return of the Seafarer Skull-Face and Others ! Thomas Kovacs ! Arkham House The Return of Skullface Skull-Face Omnibus ! FAX Collector’s Edition ! Neville-Spearman The Rhyme of the Three Slayers Skull-Face Omnibus Vol. 1: Skull Face & Others ! Thomas Kovacs ! Panther Rhymes of Death Skull-Face Omnibus Vol. 2: The Valley of the ! Dennis McHaney (Unnumbered) Worm ! Dennis McHaney (Numbered) ! Panther The Road of Azrael Skull-Face Omnibus Vol. 3: The Shadow ! Donald M. Grant Kingdom ! Donald M. Grant (Limited) ! Panther ! Bantam Skull-Face The Road to Rome ! Berkley ! Roy A. Squires Skulls in the Stars Robert E. Howard’s Fight Magazine ! Bantam ! #1 Necronomicon Press Solomon Kane ! #2 Necronomicon Press ! Baen ! #3 Necronomicon Press ! Centaur ! #4 Necronomicon Press ! Centaur (Illustrated) The Robert E. Howard Omnibus ! Peter Haddock ! Orbit Son of the White Wolf Robert E. Howard Selected Letters (1923-1930) ! Ace ! Necronomicon Press ! Berkley Robert E. Howard Selected Letters (1931-1936) ! FAX Collector’s Edition ! Necronomicon Press ! Orbit Robert E. Howard – The Power of the A Song of the Naked Lands Writing Mind ! Roy A. Squires ! Mythos Books The Sonora Kid Robert E. Howard’s World of Heroes ! Cryptic Publications ! Robinson The Sowers of the Thunder Rogues in the House ! Ace ! Donald M. Grant ! Donald M. Grant Runes of Ahrh-Eih-Eche ! Sphere ! Stygian Isle Press ! Zebra The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane Spears of Clontarf ! Wandering Star (Limited) ! Dark Carneval ! Wandering Star (Ultra Limited) ! Hamilton The Second Book of Robert E. Howard The Sword of Conan ! Berkley ! Gnome Press ! Zebra Sword Woman The Shadow of the Beast ! Ace ! George Hamilton The Sword Woman The Shadow of the Hun ! Berkley ! George Hamilton ! Zebra Shadows of Dreams The Swords of Shahrazar ! Donald M. Grant ! Ace The She Devil ! Berkley ! Ace ! Orbit ! FAX Collector Edition Tales of Conan ! Gnome Press 14 Back Numbers Three-Bladed Doom Notes: ! Ace It is probably impossible to put together a checklist ! Orbit of this sort in a way that will make all, or even most ! Zebra REH fans happy. Since I’ve put my head in the lion’s Tigers of the Sea mouth anyway, these are the criteria I used: ! Ace I am sure there are those who will question the ! Donald M. Grant number of variant editions I list. I included any book that ! Sphere I thought was substantially changed from a prior edition ! Zebra or printing. Criteria included: different publisher, dif- The Tower of the Elephant ferent format, different cover art or interior illustration, ! Donald M. Grant and different contents. ! Grosset & Dunlap I do not include anthologies that reprint Howard Trails in Darkness stories. The Garden of Fear has been excluded as it is more ! Baen an anthology than a Howard collection. Two Against Tyre If a book has material that was at least partially writ- ! McHaney (Unnumbered) ten by Howard it is included. Thus, Tales of Conan is ! McHaney (Numbered) included, with Howard stories rewritten as Conan sto- Two-Fisted Detective Stories ries, but The Return of Conan is not. ! Cryptic Publications (Unnumbered) Editions in languages other than English have been ! Cryptic Publications (Numbered) excluded. The exception is Poems of War and Death as it is ! Cryptic Publications (Lettered) in English as well as French. ! Cryptic Publications (Presentation) Small press publications containing primarily How- Up John Kane! and Other Poems ard’s work are included, fanzines that contain mainly ! Roy A. Squires articles with some Howard reprints are not. I tried to err The Ultimate Triumph on the side of inclusion. ! Wandering Star (Classic) Comic books are not included. However, The Black ! Wandering Star (Collector’s) Reaper is included because while it is formatted like a ! Wandering Star (Ultra Deluxe) comic book, it is really a text publication. Valley of the Lost Wulfsdung by Dark Carneval was not included as it ! Charles Miller has a reported two copies, insuffi cient to my mind to call Verses in Ebony it “published”. If an item was published, even if few or ! George Hamilton no copies are known to exist, it was included. ! George Hamilton (Preview Edition) The three editions of Candle were not included as the Voices of the Night and Other Poems poem has not been positively identifi ed as by Howard. ! Necronomicon Press I included The Last Celt because it does have material The Vultures by Howard, and I felt the Donald M. Grant and Berkley ! Fictioneer lists would be incomplete without it. The Vultures of Whapeton I included Robert E. Howard – The Power of the Writ- ! Berkley ing Mind because it has a substantial amount of material ! Zebra by Howard in addition to the material about Howard. Waterfront Fists The British The Conan Chronicles are troubling. I did ! Wildside Press not include an edition from Sphere as I could not verify A Witch Shall Be Born it. The Orbit edition listed is not the currently in print ! Donald M. Grant collection of Robert Jordan stories, but a collection of Writer of the Dark the fi rst three of the Lancer/Ace/Sphere Conan books. ! Dark Carneval The Conan Chronicles 2 is similarly a collection of the Wolfshead second three Conan books and not the identically titled ! Bantam book by Jordan from the same publisher. ! Lancer Worms of the Earth I’d like to acknowledge and thank the following ! Ace Howard scholars and bibliographers whose work has ! Donald M. Grant made this checklist possible: ! Kensington Don Herron: His excellent article on collecting ! Orbit Howard fi rst editions was of great help. A reprint ! Zebra of the article from Firsts magazine can be found at 15 Back Numbers www.donherron.com. Don was also very helpful and only because of a mention at his Barbarian Keep website patient in answering many questions. (www.barbariankeep.com). Rusty Burke: Who provided some last minute The Robert E. Howard United Press Association answers to tough questions and put me in touch with: website at www.rehupa.com was also useful. Paul Herman: He provided a wealth of information Bill Thom: The Coming Attractions website at http:/ on obscure items and his thorough job of proofi ng caught /members.cox.net/comingattractions/index.html has a number of errors. helped to keep me up to date on the latest Howard pub- Glenn Lord: The Last Celt remains the foundation lications. on which all subsequent Howard bibliographic work John DeWalt: For providing me with additional data rests. from his collection of fanzines. Paul Herman and Todd A. Woods: Their efforts to The Conan Bibliography put together by Bruce L. keep the Howard bibliography up to date and available Precourt with additions by William Galen Gray, Edward on the web (howardworks.iwarp.com) are much appreci- Waterman and Haggis Harris also provided useful infor- ated. mation. It is available at www.conan.com Ed Waterman: Several items were known to me Any errors or omissions are, of course, my own.

16 Back Numbers Mailing Comments Mailing 65 October 2003 details of the fi rst photoplay book. I did ask, and I was glad to see a complete and thorough answer. Argassing My email address is now OK, but my mailing Sons of the Blue Wolf #41 address is incorrect. It should be 1130 Fourth Street, Kevin L. Cook #116, Santa Rosa, CA 95404 If you think DeWalt has eclectic collecting habits, I’d like to say welcome aboard to Ray Skirsky. wait til Ray gets on board. He’s defi nitely a broad- He’s an old friend who I fi rst met at my fi rst Pulpcon. I’m minded and inclusive reader. sure he’ll be a great addition to P.E.A.P.S. Thanks for the comments on McSweeney’s Mam- moth Treasury of Thrilling Tales. Fillyloo #33 Graham Stone Blodgett #58 You ran an interesting reprint of an article circa Scott Cranford 1943 about the future of television. While the article was Thanks for your comments, and attractive photos certainly wrong about the acceptance of television, they of attendees, (or is that photos of attractive attendees?) did predict Pay-Per-View and, with some errors, cable of DragonCon. You know, I noticed the same trend that TV. I’ve recently read of plans to use digital broadcast you did when looking through pictures I took at Burn- technology to bring people into theaters to watch con- ing Man. While there were more naked men running certs and sporting events, similar to the predictions in around than naked women, my photos are overwhelm- the article. Either the article is further ahead in predict- ingly of nubile young ladies. I wonder why that is? ing the future than it seems on the surface, or pundits are still talking out of their hats. Sulf #62 I have no doubt the author is correct when he Norm Metcalf says “If you bought a set, however, you’d fi nd little you Re: J.T. Edson’s novels and their interconnection wanted to receive on it.” He’s right, but it hasn’t stopped with Philip Jose Farmer. Edson’s James “Bunduki” Gunn people from watching TV. is the adopted son of Tarzan, but Edson uses a slightly modifi ed family history based on Farmer’s Tarzan Alive Kissett as the basis for the series. Bunduki is also the direct Howard DeVore descendent of Mark Coulter, one of the Floating Outfi t. Yes, I can see you having boxes labeled “strange Edson claims to be the authorized biographer of several and wondrous things”. of the notable members of the Coulter, Fog and Hardin The collectible set of Britanica is the 11th, families and in the later books makes a pretence that his although it was still supposedly a good set until the 14th. stories are based on information provided by contempo- Thanks as always for your stories of the booksell- rary members of the extended family. ing trade. You don’t reveal what the initial “J” in J.T. Edson stands for. Shocked, I’m shocked, I tell you. It’s John Clever Truths and Best Stories Thomas Edson. Darrell C. Richardson Thanks for the information on a rare title and its Pulp Monger #13 title changes. Any chance of seeing an index to these? James Van Hise Thank you for running an obit for Dal Coger. Thanks for the article on Otis Adelbert Kline. I’m not much of a Kline fan, but I did enjoy reading Hurricane H(e)aven #9 Jan of the Jungle several years ago. I think I would have Steve Young enjoyed it even more if I had read it when I was the same Hum, Ray and I must have overlooked that age as when I fi rst encountered Tarzan. bookstore around the corner in Yellowsprings. Thanks also for the reprints of several book Re: bookstores near airbases: I’ve heard that sci- reviews. ence fi ction sells well on military bases. So while the military types may not be reading “good” literature, Rough Edges Revisited #5 they’re reading good literature. James Reasoner Thanks for the reviews of some Air War pulp Flakes from the Ragged Edges Press #14 stories. Victor Berch I’m working my way through Guns in the Shad- Thank you for the information on the date and ows and Roscoes in the Night as well. Hopefully I’ll fi nish

17 Back Numbers them in time to do a review. (Nope) arrangements to share the data with the Fictionmags I think you’ve got it right when it comes to J. T. Index? Edson. I’m fi nding that the earlier the book, the better it You’re right about my having “choice problems” is. Also the more footnotes, the less I like the book. He at the Worldcon I attended. As I recall there were several certainly is a man who likes writing about catfi ghts. things I wanted to do happening at once. But as I’ve said, Your warning about reading the last six books in I think my real problem was my own anti-social nature. the Abilene series in order came too late. I skipped from (And the fact that I’m cheap.) The Cattle Baron to The Deputy so I missed the build-up Put me down in the “Wow! Yes!” crowd re: of the villain, but caught his comeuppance. “Dear Devil” by Eric Frank Russell. He’s one of my I’ll start collecting the Wind River books and favorite writers, and that story is my favorite of his short take your advice to read them in order. stories. I picked up one of your wife’s westerns recently. I haven’t gotten around to it yet, but I hope to soon. I’ve Yesteryear October 2003 had her mysteries highly recommended to me so I’m on Glenn Lord the lookout for them. Thanks for the perspective on E. Hoffmann Thanks for telling us something about BCI. I Price. fi nd this sort of information very interesting. As always, you’re doing some very worthwhile You mention that you also wrote all of the Fury indexing work. novels as by Jim Austin and recommend the Gunn books by Jory Sherman. Unfortunately, those books all were Another Part of the Forest #4 either traded in months ago or were donated when I was Mike Ashley trying to get my apartment cleared out. I suppose for the I agree that Robert Arthur was a good writer. next twenty years I’ll be kicking myself for one book His Three Investigators series of juveniles were the books or another that I let slip away because I didn’t realize that fi rst interested me in mysteries. I’ve enjoyed the it was one I would eventually fi nd I wanted to keep. I adult stories he wrote as well. probably should have kept more, but at the time I felt overwhelmed with the sheer mass of books fl ooding the Ramblings of a Perambulating Pulp Fan #59 apartment with more coming in all of the time. And Albert Tonik most of it really wasn’t any good. It was just impossible Yep, I’m interested in Westerns, and I’m just to sort out the trash from the treasure. starting to learn who to read and who to avoid, so the sort of information you provide this time on The Mav- The New, Complete, Thrilling, Popular, Spicy, ericks series is more than welcome. Mammoth, All-Comment Magazine #20 Michael Chomko P.I.I.P. #13 Thanks for running the companion data to your Randy Vanderbeek Steger papers issue of Purple Prose and your data on the Ah, now we’re starting to get into the period of number of pulps published by Popular. Argosy I’m most interested in. I think the pre-1928 stuff is a bit dull, but things pick up pretty quickly. Obviously El Dorado #21 the death of Munsey in December 1925 and the passing John DeWalt of control of the magazine to Dewart is key here, but Unfortunately John, I’m fresh out of White there seems to be a pretty abrupt change from a general Indian books. Seems they all went to someplace in the magazine to an adventure magazine here someplace. I mid-west. Ohio, if I recall correctly. No more have suspect the watershed is sometime in 1927. turned up here at the tail end of the big book score. I’m left with a handful of Westerns and more than a hundred Procrastinator #2 covert action team and Vietnam War novels. Mark Hickman There’s another Bill Brent story by Frederick C. Thanks for running the interesting photos. Davis in Hard-Boiled Detectives edited by Dziemaianow- icz, Weinberg and Greenberg. The title is “You Slay Me, Not Worth 1/4 Cent A Word Baby”. Rick Hall Thanks for the recent heads up about 10-Story Stacks #32 Book auctions. I didn’t bid, the price went up too steeply Rusty Hevelin there at the end, but I captured the information from the Thanks for your indexing work. Are you making table of contents scan.

18 Back Numbers My visor also worked well at Pulpcon. I just wish Oh, and Edson supposedly got the information I could transfer the data in my book database to an Excell to write the story from Bunduki’s uncle. Think you can fi le without having to purchase an extra program. keep all that straight? Well I can’t. Too many footnotes. I think we can say that Avallone is not Lory You need to be more obsessive compulsive than I to keep thanks to Mike Ashley’s research, but thanks for the cor- Edson’s stuff straight. roborating evidence. If you like the idea of interconnected Western Hidalgo #67 series, give Edson a try. In some of them you can’t go Brian Earl Brown three pages without some character being introduced as You known, I didn’t notice where her hand was the son, grandson, nephew, old buddy or cousin of some until you mentioned it. NOW I CAN’T SEE IT ANY other series character. DIFFERENTLY. Thanks. In the fi rst of the Justice Company Z books, Thanks also for the reviews and the Pulpcon trip we learn that the hero is the grandson of Dusty Fog, report. I always like reading convention reports. his partner fought alongside Fog’s son in WWI, another “Scanners Live In Vain!” Now why didn’t I member of the group is the grandson of the Ysebel Kid, think using that as a headline? It’s obvious...once you’ve another is the nephew of Waxahachie Smith, who is not seen it. only another Edson series character but who also guest That was all you got at Pulpcon? DeWalt, Ray stared in the Bell Starr series and the Floating Outfi t and I need to give you lessons on how to shop. How series, and somebody else is the ancestor of the hero of can anyone come home from Pulpcon without boxes and the Rockabye County Series. boxes of loot?

SURDEZ, GEORGES West Africa, “Yank”! At 17 I joined the French High Commission Author of “The Badge of Hate,” “Jacket Number 6984,” to the United States, under Captain Valabréqgue, and “Night Brings Wisdom,” etc. served with it until the Armistice. Soon after that I went to the Ivory Coast for a timber fi rm; dabbled in general My fi rst defi nite impression was an urge to be off, trading in North Africa and French Soudan, then started to go elsewhere. My to write. My fi rst story, about the Legion in Indo-China, fi rst real thrill was the was printed in Argosy. Since, I have knocked around blast of a locomotive’s Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, the Sahara, Turkey, Syria, whistle, and from the and most of Europe but the sound of a whistle or a siren time I can recall any- still makes me think that I haven’t been anywhere, that thing I have wanted to I have seen nothing. ride on the choochoo. The French Foreign legion is somewhat more to I have been me than subject matter. I heard Legion yarns before I moderately successful could walk or talk, have studied about the unit always, in gratifying that have visited garrison towns and outposts on various impulse, Born in Swit- fronts in many colonies. I have intimate friends and zerland at the start of dozens of acquaintances of all ranks in the Corps. Stories the century, what of atrocities in the Legion, or by the legion, hand me a education I scraped laugh. I have seen the devotion of Légionnaires to their was scattered thought chiefs, the devotion of chiefs to Légionnaires. Légion- Swiss, French and naires told me: “The Legion is what you make it. Be American schools. My good and you’re treated well. Get tough, and it will be experience, not always tougher than you can hope to be.” That about tells the pleasant, has been to story, as some recall from bitter experience. be a foreigner everywhere. I have been “dirty Swiss,” “Square-head,” “Frenchy,” “Froggy,” and for a period in —The Men Who Make The Argosy, June 10, 1933

19 Back Numbers

McMORROW, WILL vice. Instead of correcting the oversight the A.G.Ol Author of “The Sun-Makers,” “Wings of Adventure”, promoted me to a fi rst lieutenancy. The war ended etc. shortly after. But my career as a private had been The Author Rises to Say: ruined. I became an airplane salesman, a newspaper When a man is asked to say a few words reporter, a real estate broker. about himself, his audience is in for a protracted I have all the vices and few of the virtues. speech. There has been only one man in the history I don’t play golf, pinochle, nor drink coffee for of the world who had any diffi culty expressing in breakfast. I like dancing, riding, Lucky Strike ciga- fl uent periods what he thought of himself and he rettes and rye. I have a red mustache and am mis- was tough-tied. For the sake of the readers of the taken often for a prohibition policeman at awkward Argosy-Allstory this will be as concise as possible. moments. My acquaintance with things military started So much for me. at the age of ten as a private in the rear rank in a “Thundering Dawns” is not my maiden effort small school on the Sound. The eagle eye of the for the Argosy-Allstory readers, but I enjoyed writ- director singled me out immediately as possessing all ing it. I offer it for what it is worth, which may be the qualifi cations necessary in a private and my voca- little, in sober memory of the Sarsfi elds and Finner- tion in life was decided. After six years I was still a ans and “Celluloid Jims” who make up the back- private—one of the chosen few. I think most of the bone of our armies, the men who lived heroically others were majors. and died obscurely on the barren harvest fi elds of I enlisted, as soon as I could, in a fi eld artil- Flanders and Picardy. lery regiment of the New York National Guard. —Introduction to “Thundering Dawns” February They threatened to make me a corporal about the 12, 1927 time I transferred to an infantry regiment. The war in Europe came along just in time to save me from A Reminder To The Reader being made an infantry corporal. I took two hun- Will McMorrow, author of “King’s Khaki,” dred and ten unfortunate horses to France for an recites from the book of his own memory when acquaintance of mine who said I would enjoy sea he speaks of the life of the British infantryman. As life, turned them over to the French cavalry and, in supercargo on a horse transport in 1915, as one of London, enlisted in the British army and wore the a famous British regiment—the Grenadier Guards— king’s coat—which I hope fi tted him better than it and as a soldier of fortune in that body of a million did me—at a shilling a day—which was poor pay for men known as “Kitchener’s Army,” he was one the work I had to do. of many young Americans who journeyed overseas When a crowd of us started for Berlin one early in the war to join the Allied armies in the September morn by way of the Somme valley—rec- fi eld. He saw action in the Somme and saw—and ommended to us by the general in command—some felt—some of that stern discipline he describes, in German folks disputed the point at a place called the severest “soldier factory” in Europe—the Guards’ Ginchy and fi lled me quite full of holes, utterly ruin- Depot at Caterham, Surrey. In matters military we ing the coat, and spoiling the party for me absolutely. are inclined to believe he “knows his vegetables” I attribute the misfortune to my having been made —or at least the explosive variety that were being a corporal shortly before. tossed and fi red and generally distributed rather care- On returning to the U.S.A. I attended Platts- lessly in the Ypres Salient at that time. burg in 1917, and in the confusion of the moment —Introduction to “King’s Khaki,” Argosy-All- was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Air Ser- story Weekly, September 24, 1927 20 Back Numbers Books Read:

Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches Marvin Harris Paperback non-fi ction. Barlowe’s Guide To Extraterrestrials Wayne Barlowe ‘til Death Ed McBain I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I’ve enjoyed others in the 87th Precinct series G-8: The Mark of the Vulture Robert J. Hogan G-8: Fangs of the Sky Leopard Robert J. Hogan I’m glad that John Gunnison printed a G-8/Red Falcon team up back in High Adventure 45 or I would have been completely lost when The Red Falcon and his sidekick Sika showed up in the last chapter of this novel. G-8: Flight From The Grave Robert J. Hogan Getting myself a little G-8 fi x. I bought these as part of a lot at the Pulpcon auction Undersea Fleet Williamson and Pohl Prince Zaleski and Cummings King Monk M. P. Shiel Hey, I actually read this. I feel much better now. Three Rode North Al Conroy The Pulp Western John A. Dinan The Spell of Seven ed. by de Camp Out of Time and Space Clark Ashton Smith Opeator 5: The Invisible Empire Curtis Steel Time Wars #7:The Argonaut Affair Simon Hawke One Hundred Years of Science Fiction Entertainment Anthony Frewin The Avenger: The Glass Man Kenneth Robeson (Ron Goulart) The Avenger: Midnight Murder Kenneth Robeson (Paul Ernst) The Sherlock Holmes Scrapbook ed. by Peter Haining The Mutant Weapon/The Pirates of Zan Murray Leinster Western Romances ed. by Peggy Simson Curry Ok, Ok, I read this and actually liked it. Sagebrush Sleuth J. T. Edson Quiet Town J. T. Edson Cards and Colts J. T. Edson The Classic Era of Crime Fiction Peter Haining Canibal Adventure Willard Price I remember this series being a lot better as a kid. The Shadow: Gray Fist Maxwell Grant (Walter Gibson) Cap Kennedy: The Ghosts of Epidoris “Gregory Kerr” I’ve read one of these, now I don’t have to read any more. Starfi st 8: Kingdom’s Fury David Sherman and Dan Cragg Pulp Classics #14: The Green Lama “Richard Foster” I wasn’t impressed. The Destroyer #29: The Final Death Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy Abilene #10: The General Justin Ladd (James L. Reasoner) Abilene #12: The Cattle Baron Justin Ladd (James L. Reasoner) Abilene #16: The Deputy Justin Ladd (James L. Reasoner) The Destroyer #31: The Head Man Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy Belarski: Pulp Art Masters John P. Gunnison Fox: Sea of Gold Adam Hardy (Kenneth Bulmer) Destroyer 35: The Last Call Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy The Darkling Tide (Poetry) Frank Belnap Long Timewars #8: The Dracula Caper Simon Hawke The Avenger #28: Dr. Time Kenneth Robeson (Ron Goulart) Gallows Heritage Robert Leslie Bellem Slaves of the Silver Serpent Lemuel De Bra

21 Back Numbers The Hastur Cycle: 2nd Edition Ed. by Robert M. Price Alvin Fog, Texas Ranger J.T. Edson Spider #6: Citadel of Hell Grant Stockbridge (Norvell Page) Ok, I only read the two back ups, I’ve already read this in the Hanos Press edition. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing SF Cory Doctorow & Karl Schroeder

Magazines Read

Pulp Review (A.K.A. High Adventure) #2 OK, so I’m a little behind on my reading. Pulp Review #6 High Adventure #66 High Adventure #70

Pulpgen Downloads Read:

Jack and the Bean Ball Samuel G. Camp His Day Back Jack Brant In Destiny’s Clutch Rafael Sabatini Face Pidgin James W. Bennett Keeper of the Treasure Edgar Wallace Don’t Frame A Red Head Clarence Mulford The Case of the Honest Thieves Thomas Thursday Shadow Tom Curry The Madam Plays the Gee-Gees Perry Paul Killer’s Cue William O’Sullivan The Game Guy Carroll John Daly Justice Gets a Break Al Bromley Reverse English Hamilton H. Craigie A One-Man Navy Eugene Cunningham Gorilla Girl Charleton L. Edholm Grandma Perkins and the Space Pirates James McConnell The Blind Spot Maitland Scott Demons of the Cold Raymond S. Spears In the Roar Albert M. Treynor And Howe! Thomas Thursday Captain Trouble #2: Where Terror Lurked Perley Poore Sheehan Hammer of the Gods John York Cabot Coogan’s Last Run Frank L. Packard Christmas Comes to Brady’s Flat Reginald C. Barker Palid Mistress W.B. Rainey Night Scene Jerome Severs Perry The High-Powered Corpse E.C. Marshall Sleuth Girl Don George When Sky Crooks Fall Out Raoul Whitfi eld Hail The Professor! Thomas Thursday

Zines Read:

Pulpdom #34

Comic Strip Collections Read:

Pre-history of the Far Side Gary Larsen

22 Back Numbers Books bought

Thrift store fi nds: Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches Marvin Harris .50 Non-fi ction, anthropology Great British Detectives Ed. by Greenberg and Hoch .50 Book four of Academy Mystery Novellas. This one has a different cover design than the second book of the series that I complained about a couple of issues ago. The cover is not as ugly, but it’s still dull. Whale Adventure Willard Price .50 I loved this series as a kid. This is a fairly recent reprint. I’m glad that kids today can still read this series.

Santa Rosa Library Booksale: All paperbacks are.75 each. There were a lot more SF books than usual this time. The Haunted Woman David Lindsay The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont Robert Bar All Our Yesterdays Harry Warner Jr. This is a dupe, but I know that DeWalt has this on his want list. Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos Ed by James Turner? No editor listed. Foundation and Empire Isaac Asimov Replacement for a missing copy Swords Against Darkness Ed by Andrew J. Offutt The Bug Wars Robert L. Asprin Replacement for a missing copy Icerigger Alan Dean Foster Replacement for a missing copy The Wooden Spaceships Bob Shaw Conan the Mercenary Andrew J. Offutt The Midnight People ed. by Peter Haining Conan of the Isles De Camp and Carter Dupe with a different cover Lie Down, Killer Richard S. Prather The Devil’s Generation ed. by Vic Ghidalia Lo! Charles Fort I don’t have any Fort. I thought that I needed to fi x that. I don’t know when I’ll ever actually get around to reading this though. The Great SF Stories 11 Ed by Isaac Asimov The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction Ed. by Edward L. Ferman Conan the Rebel Poul Anderson Duplicate copy Dracula’s Guest Bram Stoker Night Chills Ed. by Kirby McCauley Phylogenesis Alan Dean Foster Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials Barlowe, Summers, Meacham I’ve always wanted a copy of this, I just didn’t want to pay a lot for an associational item. Weird Tales Winter 1990 Weird Tales Spring 1990 Weird Tales Spring 1991 The Peshawar Lancers S. M. Stirling The Supernatural Short Stories of Robert Louis Stevenson Red Iron Nights Glen Cook The Work of the Sun Teresa Edgerton I read this several years ago when it was loaned to me, so I’m just completing my own set. L.A. Confi dential James Ellroy I like Elroy and I loved the movie. I just never seem to get around to reading any of his books.

23 Back Numbers Goosefl esh! Ed. by Vic Ghidalia The Further Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Ed. by Hugh Greene Cosmopolitan Crimes Ed. by Hugh Greene The American Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Ed. by Hugh Greene The Avenger: The Wilder Curse Kenneth Robeson Upgrade, really nice copy

Other upgrades or trade stock: Swordsmen and Supermen The Avon Fantasy Reader The Second Avon Fantasy Reader Weird Tales (ed by Leo Margulies The Spell of Seven The Disciples of Cthulhu 1st ed. Tiger River The Treasure of Atlantis . Hardbacks at $1 an inch. The following books set me back $4.50 The Ivory Trail Talbot Mundy No DJ I was just about done, when I noticed my shoelace was untied. When I leaned over to tie my shoe, I spotted this in a box on the fl oor. The Haunted Bookshop Christopher Morley DJ but spine roll Sequel to Parnassus on Wheels. I’ve heard of this book, so when I found a copy I thought I’d give it a try. Wings John Monk Saunders Movie adaptation. With photos. The Excalibur Alternative David Weber

So the above set me back a little over $35, plus a $5 entry fee into the Friday preview sale, plus a $3.50 parking fee to get my car after work so I could drive to the sale.

Saturday I return to the sale. I fi nd:

Paperbacks: Mistress Wilding Rafael Sabatini .75 The Incredible Adventures of Dennis Dorgan Robert E. Howard .75 Excellent condition, but not quite as good as mine by just a hair. Trade stock.

Hardbacks: The Destroying Angel (No DJ) Joseph Louis Vance Total of both: Over the Top (Torn DJ) Arthur Guy Empey $3.00 Non fi ction, Empey’s adventures as an American in the British Army in WWI. Still has dustjacket, though torn.

Children’s Books Canibal Adventure Willard Price .25 The Story of Doctor Dolittle Hugh Lofting .25

Sunday was half price day, so I return:

Hardback: Graustark George Barr McCutcheon .75

Paperbacks at two for .75: Mention My Name in Atlantis John Jakes Magican Apprentice (Author’s Preferred Edition) Raymond E. Feist

24 Back Numbers Earth Abides George R. Stewart Replacement for a hardback ex-library. Wolfshead Robert E. Howard I just can’t pass up a Howard at these prices

While I was there on Sunday I looked for books at the neighboring fl ea market: Western Romances ed. by Peggy Simson Curry .50 I am deeply, deeply shamed to admit I’ve bought a romance collection. Hey, it’s a pulp reprint. It’s got Todhunter Ballard, T.V. Olsen, and Wayne D. Overholser. Still, I’m probably going to fi nd a better home for this than with me.

I return on Monday, although thanks to an infl exible boss, I don’t make it to the sale until two hours after the bag sale starts. In addition to buying some stock to build up my trade credit, I picked up the following for my collection at the $4.00 bag sale: The Dark Beyond the Stars Frank M. Robinson I probably would have paid 75 cents for this, but the condition was less than perfect. Still this is a good reading copy Count Belisarius Robert Graves I’ve been a Belisarius nut since reading Harold Lamb’s Theodora and the Emperor. The Prisoner of Zenda Anthony Hope Undersea Fleet Pohl & Williamson Midnight Specials Ed. Bill Pronzini The Flying Tigers Russell Whelan non-fi ction Penguin Island Anatole France I don’t know if this is a keeper, but I had room left in the bag. Sword and Candle Sidney Herschel Small Pulp writer doing non-fi ction. Crusades. The Professional Fence Carl. B. Klockars Non-fi ction—criminal justice related.

Yes, that’s right, I went to the same library book sale four times in four days and bought books all four days. It’s a sickness.

Local bookstore buys, Santa Rosa Copperfi elds: Parnassus on Wheels Christopher Morley $7.00 trade credit Gun Monkeys Victor Gischler $6.50 trade credit

All of the following lot were found at the Petaluma Copperfi eld’s. They are more of the same lot of good condition classic paperbacks that I mentioned last issue. These are a little musty smelling, but I hope they’ll air out ok. I’ve now seen all of these collectible paperbacks. Thank goodness, I’ve run out of trade credit. Til It Hurts Nick Quarry (Albert Conroy) $2.50 The Quarry books were recommended by somebody on one of my mailing lists. Good condition Gold Medal paperbacks are a good risk anyway. I can probably get the cost back in trade credit if I don’t like it. Shoot a Sitting Duck David Alexander $2.50 Cry at Dusk Lester Dent $5.00 in trade The Lights in the Sky are Stars Fredric Brown $5.00 in trade Hopalong Cassidy Takes Cards Clarence E. Mulford $10.00 in trade Yeah, I know, too expensive, but I like Mulford and this is in really nice shape. Few Die Well Sterling Noel $2.50 One of DeWalt’s recommended authors. It turns out it’s one he doesn’t have so it’ll be out on loan before I get a chance to read it myself. Fancy Man Donald Barr Chidsey $2.50 Part of my effort to collect Chidsey

25 Back Numbers Dig My Grave Deep Peter Rabe $5 Almuric (Sphere Edition) Robert E. Howard $4.00 in trade Very nice condition foreign edition to add to the two copies of Almuric already on the shelf. Worms of the Earth Robert E. Howard $4.00 in trade Upgrade

Book scouting report one: early November: So I had two boxes of SF that I had picked up at library booksales. Total cost to me was $8.00 for the books, $4.00 for parking and a $5 bridge toll to the City to trade them in. I suppose I shouldn’t count the bridge toll as I was going in to the City anyway to see a movie. But let’s say I had $17 invested. I got $16 in trade from Kayo Books, $15 in trade from Fantasy Etc. and $25.83 from Borderlands. So I’m $39.83 ahead. I still have one whole box left to trade at Santa Rosa stores. So my book scouting is going pretty well. I could have gotten more from Fantasy Etc., but I don’t get over there very often and I really didn’t need any more credit to pick up two books that I wanted, (listed below) so I only brought in a few leftovers. Copperfi eld’s gave me $22 in trade credit on the leftovers so I’m now $61.38 ahead and have some trade credit at Copperfi eld’s again.

The Joker Edgar Wallace $3.00 in trade from Fantasy Etc. Murder From the East Carrol John Daly $10.00 in trade from Fantasy Etc.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing SF by Doctorow & Scroeder $16.95 Now I’m not really interested in this for its intended purpose, and I resent any publisher calling me an idiot while trying to sell me a book, but this came recommended and I’m enjoying learning about the nuts and bolts behind publishing and writing.

Bookscouting report two, mid November: The paperback exchange gave me about $12 in credit for books everybody else had rejected. Copperfi elds gave me $50 in trade for some assorted stuff I had lying around that I was never going to get to.

Sebastopol Library Booksale Ordinary Jack Helen Cresswell .50 First book in a favorite series from my childhood. I’m glad to fi nally fi nd an ex-library copy Lasertown Blues Charles Ingrid .50 This series is supposedly hard to fi nd in the original and it came recommended by a coworker. We’ll see.

Pleasant Hill Library Booksale This is usually my favorite local booksale. I’ve had great luck here in the past. But this time was a bust. After looking around I fi gured that the only book I’d pay .50 for was a James Reasoner, and I thought that I was probably the only person who was looking at the small fl at of Westerns. So I went to lunch and came back for the bag sale: All these were for $3 plus I picked up most of a bag for gaining trade credit and a computer book for my dad. I traded about a third of the bag to Borderlands that afternoon for $19.57 in trade credit that I spent as I ouline below. This sale was so slight this time that I didn’t even fi ll the bag completely.

Prehistory of the Far Side Gary Larsen The Pool of Flame Louis Joseph Vance Death of a Citizen Donald Hamilton Murder Twice Told Donald Hamilton Urshurak The Bros. Hidebrant and Jerry Nichols Abilene: The Hangman Justin Ladd (James Reasoner) Space Gladiators ed. by David Drake, Waugh, Greenberg The Screaming Skull ed. by David G. Hartwell

26 Back Numbers At Borderlands, I used the trade credit to buy: Wicked Hollow #6 Small press magazine/booklet $4.00 in trade The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian Robert E. Howard $14.95 in trade Ill. By Mark Schultz. This is the affordable Del Rey edition of the Wandering Star collection. You’ve just got to love a bookstore that takes used books and lets you use the credit to buy new books.

Then I stopped by Kayo Books, got $15 in trade credit for some stuff and with that and previously gained credit I bought: The Antarktos Cycle Ed. by Robert M. Price $10 in trade The Hastur Cycle 2nd ed. Ed by Robert M. Price $7 in trade. I’m trying to build a complete set of these Cthulhu Cycle anthologies from Chaosium.

Local Bookstore Buys, Lakeside Books: The Ambivalent Magician Simon Hawke $2.95 I paid how much for this? What was I thinking?

Las Vegas Trip: The Iron Man (Zebra) Robert E. Howard Three-Bladed Doom (Orbit) Robert E. Howard When I went to Las Vegas to see family over the holidays, I brougth with me a copy of The Green Felt Jungle that I picked up for fi fty cents at a library book sale. I traded it for both of the above books which would have otherwise cost me $7.50. These are both to fi ll in holes in my REH paperback collection. The Mighty Barbarians ed. by H. S. Santesson $4.95 The Mighty Swordsmen ed. by H. S. Santesson $4.95 While in Las Vegas I went into every used bookstore in the greater Las Vegas metropolitan area that was open. I only bought two books. Either pickings were slim or I’m getting to be more discriminating. There were several bookstores that I remember from my last trip there two years ago that are now gone.

Waiting for me when I got back from Las Vegas was a box of books from Mike Chomko. High Adventure #72 $8 High Adventure #73 $8 G-8 #10 Robert J. Hogan $10 The Spider #6 Grant Stockbridge $10 The Spider #26 Grant Stockbridge $10 Hard Guy James L. Lawson $9 Jewels of Java H. Bedford Jones $9 Corpse on Ice Robert Leslie Bellem $9

I still have two boxes of books left from the big book score. They are in good condition, but I’ve had no takers close to home. So I decided that I’d take them down to San Jose and see if I could fi nd them a home. While I was at it, I stopped by the monthly Palo Alto Library booksale. It’s a long drive, and I started late, so I got there just in time for the half price sale going on at the bargain room. The fi rst time through I bought: His Majesty’s Highwayman Donald Barr Chidsey $.25 Case of the Dark Wanton Peter Cheyney $.25 It’s About Crime MacKinlay Kantor $.25 Collection of short stories, about half from pulps. Wild Gil Brewer $.25 Soul Music Terry Pratchett $.25

So then I wandered over to the main sale room where I found:

The Dark Wing Walter H. Hunt $.25 From the Dust Returned Ray Bradbury $.25

27 Back Numbers The Nine Bears Edgar Wallace $3.00 Early paperback, circa 1929? Men of Iron Howard Pyle $1.50 Hardback: dustjacket present, but heavily damaaged.

Then I returned to the bargain sale room, where I found: Outer Space Stories Ed. A. L. Furman $.25 Original title: Teen-age Outer Space Stories. Reprints from Boys Life, mostly. Big City Crimes Danforth and Horan $.25 Way of a Wanton Richard S. Prather $.25 The False Faces Louis Joseph Vance $.25 This alone would have made the trip down worth it. It’s always great to fi nd a book on the wantlist for only a quarter. Death Hits the Jackpot John Tiger $.25 Pages missing, but story is intact. The Still David Feintuch $.25 Modern Fantasy. I’ve seen his books around and I thought I’d give him a try.

Then I continued on to three bookstores in the San Jose, Santa Clara area. I wasn’t able to trade any of the bookscore books, everyone turned up their noses at them. But I had some existing trade credit at one store I wanted to get rid of and a few good books left over from earlier booksales to trade. Star Western Ed. by Jon Tuska $5.00 in trade Drachenfels Jack Yeovil (Kim Newman) $2.00 in trade The Ultimate Guide to Science Fiction David Pringle $7.99 in trade The Astounding/Analog Reader Book Two Ed. by Harrison and Aldis $1.99 in trade.

Magazines Bought

Black Gate, Fall 2003 $9.95 New issue Smithsonian Magazine 12 assorted issues $.60 Palo Alto Friends of the Library sale. After noon these were half price, thus a nickel each. There’s some good stuff here including a duplicate of the issue that has the article on the Brooklyn pulp show and an issue with a Burroughs article.

Comic Strip Collections Bought

The Complete Dickie Dare Milton Caniff $8.50 I’m a big Caniff fan, so I was happy to fi nd this collection of his strip that preceeded Terry and the Pirates. This turned up at a Las Vegas bookstore on my recent trip.

28